Marry My Husband: Episodes 1-2
by solstices
When a terminally-ill affected person has her whole world crash down in a single day, she’s given a miraculous second probability at life — and she or he’s decided to take advantage of it. Zippy, enjoyable, and empowering, this can be a premiere with a great deal of potential.
EPISODES 1-2
We’re launched to our browbeaten heroine KANG JI-WON (Park Min-young) within the hospital — having been recognized with stage 4 gastric most cancers, she solely has six to 12 months left to reside. With each her mother and father out of the image, it’s all she will be able to do to quietly bear the abuse of her nasty mother-in-law.
Her husband PARK MIN-HWAN (Lee Yi-kyung) isn’t significantly better. Min-hwan is a mama’s boy who expects his spouse to attend on him like a maid, and his response to Ji-won’s most cancers analysis is to whine about who will make his meals for him if she’s sick. Ugh.
Simply in case you would possibly suppose Ji-won has her finest pal JUNG SOO-MIN (Music Ha-yoon) in her nook, the present shortly establishes that isn’t the case. Soo-min could also be candy and supportive in entrance of Ji-won, however in her free time she’s leaping on Min-hwan and sharing some steamy classes.
Ji-won’s unpaid hospital payments — courtesy of the 2 moochers who’re speculated to be her household — depart her with no alternative however to take a taxi house. When she opens as much as the motive force about her long-suffering life, he veers astray and takes her on a detour down a wonderful cherry blossom highway. “Solely once you comply with a highway to its finish can you understand its end result for positive,” he tells her. There are different paths, and perhaps even higher ones. Ji-won tries to pay for the experience, however he returns the money, telling her to think about it as an allowance from her father.
Arriving house, Ji-won is confronted with an unpleasant fact — her husband and her finest pal are cuddling in mattress, gleefully snickering about how Min-hwan had the foresight to take out most cancers insurance coverage and discussing what they’ll do with the cash after Ji-won dies. Totally heartbroken, Ji-won confronts the canoodling lovers, which escalates to a struggle that ends with Min-hwan shoving Ji-won away from Soo-min and into their glass desk. It shatters, and the frail Ji-won bleeds out to her loss of life.
The subsequent factor Ji-won is aware of, she’s again in her workplace, confronted together with her dishonest husband. His betrayal nonetheless contemporary in her thoughts, she instinctively assaults Min-hwan in a fury, till the final supervisor YOO JI-HYUK (Na In-woo in adorably nerdy glasses) intervenes. He saves Ji-won twice extra, pushing away a falling jug and pulling her again from tripping down the steps, and he even retrieves her misplaced sneakers like her very personal Prince Charming.
We don’t spend a number of time with Ji-hyuk this week — he’s principally hovering within the background, watching over Ji-won with furrowed brows and an inscrutable look on his face — however he’s already equal elements likable and intriguing. For one, he’s at all times displaying up at simply the precise second for Ji-won, virtually as if he already is aware of all her troubles. Hmm, might he be a time traveler too?
Ji-hyuk can be considerate and thoughtful, which already units him miles aside from anybody else in Ji-won’s life. He doesn’t hesitate to reaffirm her capabilities and reassure her in instances of want, which is already nudging her in direction of rebuilding her vanity. (Bonus: In 2021, Ji-hyuk succeeds his father’s firm and turns into the CEO!)
Ji-won could have been dropped headfirst into her second probability, however she’s fast on the uptake. Realizing that she’s time-slipped again to 2013 — which implies she has a decade to vary the terrible destiny she nonetheless remembers all too vividly — Ji-won decides to make use of her data from the longer term to speculate properly and develop her meager financial savings. She hasn’t but married Min-hwan, and a hospital checkup reveals that she’s nonetheless cancer-free, which implies she nonetheless has an opportunity to keep away from being chained down.
Earlier than all that, although, there’s only one burning query — how did Ji-won even resurrect within the first place? She finds her reply when she digs via her pocket and discovers a observe with a coronary heart drawn on it. It’s the invoice the taxi driver had given her, and it sparks a reminiscence of her late father doodling on a observe in the very same manner. We see the taxi scene once more, and this time, it’s her father within the driver’s seat, as if he’s giving her one final present.
Resolving to reside her life to the fullest this time round, Ji-won places her pondering cap on. The wound that Ji-hyuk had sustained when defending her from the jug is precisely the identical because the burn scar she had again within the authentic timeline. Moreover, Ji-won circumvents a knee scrape she’d gotten, solely to incur that very same wound otherwise. Nevertheless, when Ji-won evades the trail of Soo-min’s “unintentional” meals spill, she efficiently retains herself clear, and Min-hwan’s designer shirt finally ends up ruined as a substitute. (Ha, serves him proper!)
All of it turns into clear — occasions will at all times play out as they’re speculated to, however the concerned events can differ. With that, Ji-won cooks up a plan. She’ll foist her horrid destiny upon Soo-min, to kill two birds with one stone.
When each moochers attempt to crash at her residence, Ji-won sees the right alternative to engineer some alone time. Whiskey? Verify. Hubby who’s been mooning over her finest pal? Verify. Mentioned finest pal? Verify — uh, scratch that, Soo-min’s determined to throw a tantrum and never come over in any case. Whoops.
Min-hwan’s gotten house sooner than anticipated, since Ji-won had beforehand acted cute and coy with a purpose to throw off his unfounded suspicions about her and Ji-hyuk having a burgeoning affair. (The projection is robust with this one, eh?) Below the impression that Ji-won is within the temper for some attractive instances, Min-hwan flings his towel off with a dramatic flourish, grinning with anticipation. Cornered by the keen Min-hwan, Ji-won shrieks in horror.
Ha, I just like the drama thus far! It’s shifting satisfyingly quick, particularly with how Ji-won is throwing herself into her self-improvement mission with gusto. I cheered when Ji-won instantly acknowledged Min-hwan and Soo-min’s true colours; if not for the necessity to sustain appearances (for now at the very least), she’d be dropping them like scorching potatoes. Ji-won could have been demeaned and discredited, however she nonetheless has a backbone, and she or he’s slowly rediscovering the self-worth she’d overlooked.
It’s why I like that the drama is spotlighting feminine solidarity, demonstrating the constructive affect that Ji-won has on others and the help she receives in return. There’s her skilled partnership with the meek assistant supervisor YANG JOO-RAN (Gong Min-jung), who’s continuously dismissed by the smug, embodiment-of-a-boomer-uncle crew supervisor. Then there’s her friendship with the adorably enthusiastic coworker YOO HEE-YEON (Choi Gyu-ri), who has each the full of life optimism to brush off barbed feedback and the forthright confidence to place Soo-min in her place.
As a lot because the drama is leaning into the entertaining cheesiness of the campy premise, it’s additionally doing a remarkably practical job of depicting the struggles that girls face. Typically, it’s uncomfortably so; I couldn’t assist however shrink away from my display screen when Min-hwan grew violently forceful within the face of Ji-won’s rejection. (Kudos to Lee Yi-kyung for deftly balancing Min-hwan’s pathetic loser qualities and his terrifyingly aggressive aspect.)
Up to now, the drama is persistently and instantly calling out the rampant misogyny in society. It’s evident in how the police victim-blame Ji-won and commiserate with Min-hwan, or how Ji-won’s mother-in-law berates her for the shortage of progeny when that had been Min-hwan’s determination, and even one thing as easy but as pervasive as Soo-min’s fairly privilege.
Talking of Soo-min, she clings onto Ji-won as a result of she wants somebody to place down with a purpose to elevate herself, leading to a possessive type of affection that borders on obsessive. Ji-hyuk appears to have cottoned on to this, and if his temporary assembly with the superstar chef BAEK EUN-HO (Lee Ki-kwang) is any indication, he could also be pulling some strings to make sure the highschool reunion dinner goes in Ji-won’s favor. (No pretend earrings and public embarrassment this time!)
The present’s social commentary is uncomfortably true-to-life whereas concurrently ramping up the zany antics, and thus far I believe it’s doing a reasonably first rate job of balancing the tone. I’m rooting for Ji-won to steer her life within the path that she needs, I’m curious what Ji-hyuk’s deal is, and I can’t watch for Min-hwan and Soo-min to get their much-deserved comeuppance. In different phrases — I’m cautiously optimistic, however for now, I’m all in for the experience!
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